Pacific University is joining forces with the Oregon Alliance of Independent Colleges and Universities to streamline pathways from community college to the state’s four-year private colleges.
The Oregon Transfer Pathway Initiative is designed to help prospective transfer students better understand how existing course credits will carry forward to four-year institutions like Pacific, providing a clear picture of what they can expect to pay and how many courses they will have to take to complete their bachelor’s degree.
Transfer students are a growing part of Pacific’s undergraduate student body, accounting for nearly 17% of the university’s incoming Fall 2026 class.
“Across the various stages of the project, we were able to identify and build routes that add value and opportunity for the transfer student population,” said Justin McRobert, Pacific’s assistant director of admissions and transfer specialist. “As a statewide effort with over 25 schools involved, this work is of a broader scale than one university alone could do. I am proud to be a part of a community that has emphasized creating meaningful and accessible avenues for our state’s transfer students.”
The Oregon Transfer Pathway Initiative offers several tools designed to make transferring to Pacific and the state’s other private universities easier, including:
• More options for General Transfer Degrees
• Major Transfer Maps that better align community college classes to junior- and senior-level course requirements
• Templates to ease academic mapping for transfer students
• Tools to better gauge the cost of completing an education at a private university
Pacific’s participation in the Oregon Transfer Pathway Initiative adds another layer to the university’s robust support system for transfer students. For the sixth straight year, Pacific has been named to Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society’s Transfer Honor Roll, recognizing colleges and universities for their exceptional support of transfer students. Pacific is one of just three institutions in Oregon, and eight in the Pacific Northwest, to make the honor roll in 2026.
The Transfer Honor Roll is determined by 40 key metrics related to the support and success of transfer students, including college cost and financial aid, campus life for transfers, admissions practices, and bachelor’s degree completion.
Over the last several years, Pacific has developed several admissions programs designed to help transfer students thrive and find meaningful career pathways. The Pacific Priority program offers a two-year graduation guarantee in most undergraduate programs to transfer students from community colleges in Oregon, Washington, California and Hawaiʻi.
Transfer students can also take part in Pacific Priority’s guaranteed grad school admissions program. Upon admission and depositing to the university, transfer students can apply at the same time for admission to one of 11 Pacific graduate programs. Upon achieving certain academic benchmarks, including completing their bachelor’s degree, students are guaranteed a seat in that graduate program.
Other opportunities include a partnership with Oregon’s Linn-Benton Community College for music therapy majors, and transfer pathways between the School of Pharmacy and Chemeketa Community College and Umpqua Community College.
Learn more about how to apply to Pacific as a transfer student by visiting our admissions website.